Our smaller propane tank has a very small leak around the regulator and, understandably, the propane company wants it empty before they work on it. It was getting very low and the past few days, we’ve had night time lows in the teens and I just knew we were going to run out of propane during the middle of the night. Our heater doesn’t come on much at night because we keep it set at 55 – 58 degrees but the thermostat is programmed to come on at 5:30 a.m. so we don’t have to wake up to a freezing cold house. All we had to do when the tank ran out was for one of us . . preferable the “other” one of us . . would have to go out and flip the switch to go to the bigger tank, which is full. Every night, I would say “Have you checked the propane level?” and Vince’s response was always “when it runs out, we’ll know it!” I had been checking it every day . . it went from 10% to 7% and the last time I looked, it was at 5%. You know what the worst part of a freezing cold house is? Sitting on the toilet seat and that’s something that affects girls way more than boys! My only solace was that if the tank ran out early in the night and we didn’t notice til we woke up . . . Vince takes the first shower in the morning and I was all set to say “when it runs out, we’ll know it!”
Yesterday we turned the heater off when we left the house in the morning and when we got home from being out almost all day . . it was just getting dark. I flipped the heater on, turned the thermostat all the way up to 64 . . which is about as warm as I can stand. After we unpacked the car and did a few things, I realized the heater had never come on. I turned the stove burner on. Nope . . we were out of propane.
Switching Tanks
I hope one of the things we do soon is paint that smaller tank.
Vince had to re-light the water heater. The furnace re-lights itself . . which is good since it’s in the attic. We’re back in business and as soon as the cost of propane goes down a bit . . probably about May or June, we’ll get the propane guys out here to change out the parts on the old tank, refill both tanks and we’ll be all set.
Kat Scribner says
I know life is a challenge, especially in the winter, but your way of telling this story is still amusing. Keep warm! I used to have a house with propane, and the scariest notion was not quite running out of propane, but the outrageous cost of filling the tank.
Karen says
I would be freezing in your house LOL – I can’t stand it that cold in a house – poor circulation!
Regina says
Ah – cold toilets brings back memories – when I lived overseas I had a kerosene space heater, and it wasn’t vented other than my keeping the window slightly open, so I would get the apartment rip roaring warm, then turn it off when I went to bed. Mornings were VERY chilly – and after the first few weeks of the first winter I learned to shower at night. Brrr…. Nice having two tanks, though – your suffering will always be shortlived!
Joyce says
I HATE cold toilet seats. I had a power outage Friday morning, and I cringed at the thought of sitting on the toilet in a 55 degree house…it’s good you have two tanks!
Linda says
Oh Judy, I don’t know if we could survive in the same room! I have the heat at 72 here and I can barely feel my fingers and toes. I always, always cold. I’m sure glad you have the two tanks and you didn’t have to find the tank was out by encountering that cold toilet seat!
Diana in RR, TX says
5 or 6 years ago the day before opening day of deer season our temps dropped-got windy and cold-snow flurries. Galen got to the ranch before our friend. the propane tank was on automatic refill except the company had changed, didn’t send out notices. tank ran out that night-.no hot water, no heat, no cooking unless it was microwave and grilling. took 2 days to get the tank refilled. the guys roughed it out of course.
kaholly says
Thank goodness you had a second tank!!
jen says
Propane is over 5.00/gallon up here in ND. Be thankful you have that other tank. We’ve been robbing from different tanks to keep everything running on the farm…heat in the house, heat in the cattle tanks, heat in the shop. We are definitely researching an alternative!
Marsha says
Reminds me of growing up on the farm. We had a propane stove and refrigerator. It was a hurry up call to the dealer so we could keep refrigerator cold
Denise :) says
With the RV we use 30# tanks … we have four, so we always have two backups. Two are hooked up at a time and when one empties, the connector automatically switches to the second. Typically we can get an average of four solid days, but Todd is determined to put it to the test to see *exactly* how many hours it’ll go. Like y’all, we run the thermostat down low in the evenings (generally around 60). Saturday morning at 7 a.m. was the 96 hour mark and we still are going strong! I hope, considering how low temps are dipping overnight, that we can hold out until the morning!! 🙂
Pauline Kennelly says
My quick fix for a cold toilet seat. First, I bought a remnant of fleece with the idea I’d make a cover for my toilet seat. Well, other more fun projects kept getting my attention and the fleece got further and further on the back burner. Then that vortex of cold hit the Texas hill country and I cringed thinking of the the pain of that cold seat. I grabbed a couple of sheets of newspaper and cut the appropriate hole, laid it on the seat and sat. What a relief! I didn’t worry one bit about any news print transfer either, bath would be later anyway. Maybe one day I’ll get back to sewing the cover, but maybe not, since the paper was too easy and I now have an idea for something else nicer for that fleece.
CJ says
I heard propane prices were crazy, like $5 a gallon! I hope that’s something temporary, as I want to get a humongous tank and only fill it every few years to keep out on the land. My range, and backup hot water heater will run off of it.
helen-mary says
1) padded toilet seats don’t feel cold.
2) you should paint some funky wildflowers on that propane tank! Or quilt blocks!